Skirt hanger



Jan. 5, 1960 B. BURNS SKIRT HANGER Filed May 19, 1958 BY Hfs ATTORNEYS.

HAnms, KlecH, FOSTER 8e HARRIS United States Patent O SKIRT HANGER 'Bruce Burns, Yucca-Valley, Calif.

Application May 19, 1958, Serial No. 736,049

7 Claims. (Cl. 223-95) The present invention relates to a garment hanger and particularly a skirt hanger adapted to be expanded inside the waistband of a skirt and hung on a horizontal bar, hook, etc.

The skirt hanger of my invention is especially designed for use in retail clothing stores, department stores, and the like, where large numbers of skirts are hung side by side on display racks and are handled frequently by sales personnel or shoppers. In such situations the skirt hanger should be designed to maintain a firm grip on the garment without injuring the fabric and be rugged enough to withstand a considerable amount of hard usage. Furthermore, the hanger should be capable of rapid and convenient engagement with and disengagement from the skirt in a manner practically obvious to a person who has not previously seen the hanger used or operated. In other words, the effective operation of the hanger should be simple and as natural and automatic as possible. A group of thehangers should hold a group of skirts neatly and evenly in a rack and should not wrinkle or deform the garments. In addition, the hanger should be designed for mass production of inexpensive materials and parts that can be used and assembled without the use of expensive machinery or skilled labor.

Accordingly, it is an important object of my invention to provide a skirt hanger which will firmly and securely grip the garment without injuring the fabric or shopwearing the skirt.

Another object is to provide such a hanger which is capable of being rapidly and conveniently applied to a skirt and removed therefrom by a person of ordinary intelligence without previous training or observation of the manner in 'which the hanger is used.

A further object is to provide such a hanger in a rugged and durable form which can be rapidly and eiciently fabricated and assembled by low cost mass production methods.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the drawing and the following specification, which are for the purpose of illustration and not limitation.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a side elevational View of a preferred form of the invention showing arms of the hanger fully extended;

Fig. 2 is a partial vertical sectional view drawn to a somewhat enlarged scale taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 showing the manner in which the arms of the hanger dovetail and are mounted in its frame;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view drawn to a somewhat enlarged scale taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. l showing the manner in which a detent or stop is mounted in the middle of the frame;

Fig. 4 is a partial longitudinal sectional view drawn to an enlarged scale taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. l showing an attachment of the lixed inner end of a tension spring, and ratChGt teeth on the end of a bottom member; and

Fig. 5 is a partial side elevational view broken away showing the hanger with a skirt in phantom held thereby at its waistband.

In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the hanger includes a frame 10, adjustable arms 11 and 12, a bottom member 13, springs 14 and 15 and a hook 16. The frame, bottom member, and arms preferably are made of a tough synthetic plastic such as modified polystyrene, cellulose acetate, etc., but other similarly tough and durable materials can be used. The hook 16 preferably is made of metal but a suitable plastic can be used. Similarly, springs 14 and l15 preferably are made of steel but other suitable elastic materials can be used and rubber bands may be used.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the frame 10 is made with a body portion consisting of two spaced, parallel sides 18 and 19 and a guide or guard portion 20. The guide portion 20 is joined at its opposite ends at 21 and 22 and at its middle at 23 to the tops of the two sides. The joints at 21, 22 and 23 preferably are integral joints which can be made by casting the frame 10 as a single piece. Other methods of making the joints at 21, 22 and 23 can be employed.

Hook 16 preferably is provided with a loop 24 at its upper end to guard against possible injury to garments. The lower end of the hook is mounted in the middle of guide portion 20 at 26 to swivel therein. This preferably is accomplished by grooving the lower end of hook 16 and snapping it into a snap-ring while held in the guide portion or by casting the guide portion around the hook when the frame 10 is cast. Other methods of rotatably mounting the hook in the frame can be used. A snapring washer or flange 27 is mounted or formed on the lower end of the hook to securely anchor it in the guide portion while permitting it to swivel therein.

A brace or reinforcing member 28 is cast or attached vbetween the guard portion 20 and the two sides 18 and 19. The member 28 extends below hook 16 to the middle portion of the sides 18 and 19 and strengthens the guard portion to safely take the load of the skirt and hanger .concentrated at the base of the hook at washer 27 when the hook is hung on a horizontal bar or other support.

The guard portion 20 also is reinforced by rib portions 29 and 31 which brace the guard portion and at the same time serve as guides for projecting finger rings 32 and 3'3 made integral with adjustable arms 11 and 12,

respectively. Finger projections of shapes other than rings, such as arcuate finger grips, can be used. The rings 32 and 33, or other finger projections, extend upwardly and slidably through longitudinal spaces or slots 34 and 35, respectively, between the upper spaced, parallel edges of sides 18 and 19. The space 34 extends from the base of joint 21 to the adjacent side of the base of reinforcing member 28 and the space 35 extends from the opposite side of the base of member 28 to joint 22. The rings 32 and 33 are grooved at their upper portions to slidably engage the rib portions 29 and 31, respectively. The rings also are grooved at their outer portions to engage the lower edges of the vertical portions of rib por- Vtions 29 and 31 for added reinforcement when the arms 11 and 12 are in the fully extended position shown in Fig. l.

The arms 11 and 12 are opposed to each other both transversely and longitudinally. Each arm, as best shown for arm 12 drawn in solid lines in Fig. 5, contains a skirt engaging -portion 36 at the outer end thereof. The portion 36 is inclined inwardly somewhat from the vertical and contains serrations or teeth 37 directed upwardly for securely engaging the inside of a waistband of a skirt 38 shown in phantom. A stop 39 is formed at the top of the skirt engaging portion 36 to automatically regulate the distance to which the portion 36 is inserted inside the skirt 33 so that both arms l1 and l2 will be inserted the same distance and the skirt will hang evenly in a display rack or other support. Arms ll and l2 are channeled or hollowed on their insides as shown to reduce their weight without sacrifice in strength.

The outer portions il and ll or arms ll and 12, respectively, which in each case are about half the total lengths of the arms, are provided with smooth upper sides 42 and 43, respectively, and serrated lower sides 4d and 45, respectively. The smooth upper sides d2 and i3 are adapted to slide smoothly under the smooth bottom surfaces of the joints 2l annd 22, as best shown in Fig. 5 for joint 22 and arm l2. The serrated lower sides 44 and i5 are provided with teeth which slope inwardly and are adapted to mesh or ratchet with similar, but outwardly sloping teeth formed at 46 and 47, respectively, on the ends of bottom member i3. Each arm ll and l2 is dimensioned relative to the space between the inside surfaces of spaced, parallel sides 18 and l@ of the frame lll) and the distance between the bottom surface of joint 2l and teeth to and joint 22 and teeth 47, respectively, so that the arms can be moved freely back and forth in the frame lll when the upper sides 42 and 43, respectively, are in sliding contact with the bottom surfaces of joints 2l and 22, respectively. other words, the dimensions are made so that the teeth 46 and 47 will be cleared, as shown in Fig. l, when the arms are urged upwardly in engagement with the bottom surfaces of joints 2l and 22, respectively.

The inner portions 49 and Sil of the arms ll and l2, respectively, are provided with longitudinal detent slots 5l and S2, respectively. A detent 53, best shown in Fig. 3, is passed transversely through the middle of sides 18 and i9 and loosely through both overlapping detent slots Sl and 52. Detent 53 is shown to be a screw turned into an internally threaded sleeve 55, but can be a nut and bolt, rivet or any similar device. The inner ends of arms lll and l2 are provided with hooks 57 and 58, respectively, for attachment thereto of the inner ends of coiled or spiraled tension springs 14 and E5, respectively. The outer ends of springs 14 and l5 are attached to posts S9 and oil, respectively, preferably formed or cast integral with bottom member 13.

Bottom member t3 preferably is cast or formed of a single piece of material. Each end of the bottom member i3 is notched as shown at 62 and 63 to accommodate transverse bolt and nut assemblies ed and 65. These nut and assemblies hold the bottom member 13 in position and also iirmly hold the spaced, parallel sides l and i9 in fixed position. It will be apparent that holes can be formed in the ends of bottom member l instead of the notches 62 and 63 to receive fasteners which, instead of nut and bolt assemblies 64 and 65 may be any suitable fastening means such as screws threaded into the ends of bottom member il?) from both sides, a screw turned into an internally threaded sleeve as in the case of detent 53, rivets, etc. At one side of each end of the bottom member l3 is formed a group of teeth d6 and 47, as described above. The teeth 46' and 47 are formed at opposite sides of the bottom member to cooperate with the teeth of the opposed serrated lower sides fil/land l5 of the opposed arms ll and l2. The other side 265 and 67 of each end of bottom member i3 is extended above the adjoining serrated lower side i4 or i5 of adjacent arm ll or l2, respectivcly7 to serve as a guide for the arm, as best shown in Fig. 2.

The lower edges of spaced, parallel sides i8 and 19 preferably are longitudinally grooved at 63 and 69, as best shown in Fig. 3. Bottom member ll3, which preferably is U-shaped in cross section throughout most of its length, has its sides 7f3 and 7l longitudinally grooved to intert with those of sides 18 and 19 at 68 and 69, respectively, as best shown in Fig. 3. The bottom member 13 is fitted to the bottom of frame lll after the arms ll and l2 are mounted in overlapping, opposed relationship between the sides i8 and E9, and after detent 53 has been fastened in the sides through detent slots 5l and 52 in the arms. The bolt and nut assemblies 64 and serve to hold bottom member l3 in place by acting against the ends of the bottom member through notches 62 and 63.

O eration of `the skirt hanger of my invention is simple, rapid and convenient. The hanger is grasped in one hand with the thumb and a finger in the finger rings 32 and 33. The outer end or" one of the arms Ill or l2 is inserted in the waistband of the skirt to be hung until the stop 39 touches the top of the waistband, as shown in Fig. 5. rhe finger rings 32 and 33 then are urged toward each other to retract arms ll and 12 until the outer end of the other arm il or l2 readily can be inserted in the waistband of the skirt so that the top thereof touches the stop on that arm. The pressure on finger rings 32 and 33 then is released so that arms lll and l2 are extended under the full tension of the springs ld and l5. The weight of the skirt then locks the arms lll and l2 in position and prevents any retraction thereof.

While the skirt is hanging from the hanger, as shown in Fig. 5, the weight of the skirt pulls downwardly at the outer ends of arms and l2. This downward pull of the skirt produces a downwardly directed moment of force in each arm which acts around detent 53. This downwardly directed moment of force in each arm is greater than an upwardly directed moment produced by the tension in spring lll or l5 which applies a force at hook 57 or 5t?, respectively. These upwardly directed moments also act around detent 53 and are suiciently great to rotate the arms ll and l2 upwardly as shown in Fig. 1, when they are fully extended and are not holding a skirt. ln the position shown in Fig. l the teeth of the serrated lower sides dfi and l5 of arms ll and 12, respectively, clear the teeth d6 and 47, respectively, and arms ll and l2 can be freely retracted or advanced by pressing linger rings 32 and 33 toward each other or re.

leasing pressure thereon, respectively. In the position shown in Fig. 5, however, when a skirt is mounted on the hanger, the teeth on the lower sides 44 and 45 of arms ll and l2, respectively, mesh with teeth 46 and 47, respectively, and retraction of the arms is positively prevented.

By positively preventing any retraction of arms 11 and l2 after a skirt is hung on the hanger, the skirt is prevented from slipping off the arms during handling of the skirt while it is mounted on the hanger, such as is customary by a saleslady, shopper, etc. When, in the course of such handling, pressure is applied inwardly on the outer ends of the arms, they are not retracted because they are locked against such reaction, as explained above. This locking feature of the hanger prevents skirts from falling olf the hangers during all sorts of handling and movement of the skirt and hanger and avoids the very annoying separation of skirt and hanger so common with prior art hangers. The continuous outwardly directed forces in arms ll and llZ compensate for any relaxation or stretching in the skirt waistband because the teeth on the lower sides d4 and 45 of the arms ratchet with teeth d6 and 47, respectively, and permit extension of the arms. Thus these outwardly directed forces, acting through teeth 37 securely and safely hold the skirt on the hanger. The skirt can be removed from the hanger by simply pressing the finger rings 32 and 33 toward each other until teeth 37 separate from the waistband of the skirt.

ln the above description of the embodiment shown in the drawing, the hanger was described as having two adjustable arms ll and l2. It will be appreciated that one of the arms can be made as a fixed arm and the other arm can be made adjustable in the manner described above. In this form some of the symmetry of operation of the hanger is lost but it is effective and possesses most of the advantages of the hanger described above. It is somewhat simpler in construction.

It is clear from the above description that a rugged and durable skirt hanger has been provided byv my invention which firmly and securely grips the skirt, and can be rapidly and conveniently applied to and removed from the skirt. Also, the hanger of my invention can be rapidly and eiciently fabricated and assembled. Although the skirt hanger has been described above as adapted for use in retail clothing stores, department stores, etc., it is apparent that the hanger of my invention will nd application in the home as well as in many businesses such as in the cleaning, laundering, clothing, etc., for example.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a garment hanger, the combination of: frame means;

a pair of arm members supported by and extending longitudinally from said frame means, one of said arm members being longitudinally movable relative to said frame means and the other arm member;

pivot means associated with said frame means and said movable arm member for permitting pivotal movement of said movable arm member relative to said frame means; and

resilient means associated with said movablearm member and biasing the latter outwardly and upwardly about said pivot means relative to said frame means, said movable arm member being rotatable downwardly around said pivot means against the action of said resilient means in response to a predetermined weight being imposed on the outer end of said movable arm member.

2. In a garment hanger, the combination of: frame means;

a pair of arm members supported by and extending longitudinally from said frame means, one of said arm members being longitudinally movable relative to said frame means and the other arm member;

pivot means associated with said frame means and said movable arm member for permitting pivotal movement of said movable arm member relative to said frame means;

resilient means associated with said movable arm member and biasing the latter outwardly and upwardly about said pivot means relative to said frame means, said movable arm member being rotatable downwardly around said pivot means against the action of said resilient means in response to a predetermined weight being imposed on the outer end of said movable arm member; and

latch means operative between said movable arm member and said frame means in response to said downward rotation of said movable arm member to retain it against inward movement relative to said frame means so long as said weight is imposed on said mov able arm member.

3. In a garment hanger, the combination of: frame means;

a pair of elongated arm members slidably mounted on said frame means for longitudinal extension and retraction relative thereto;

pivot means associated with said frame means and said arm members for permitting pivotal movement of said arm members relative to said frame means; and

resilient means associated with each of said arm members and biasing each of said arm members outwardly relative to said frame means and each other and normally rotating the outer ends of said arm members upwardly about said pivot means, said arm members being rotatable downwardly around said pivot means against the action of said resilient means in response to a predetermined weight imposed on the outer ends of said arm members.

4. In a garment hanger, the combination of: frame means;

a pair of elongated arm members slidably mounted on said frame means for longitudinal extension and retraction relative thereto;

pivot means associated with said frame means and said arm members for permitting pivotal movement of said arm members relative to said frame means;

resilient means associated with each of said arm members and biasing each of said arm members outwardly relative to said frame means and each other and normally rotating the outer ends of said arm members upwardly about said pivot means, said arm members being rotatable downwardly around said pivot means against the action of said resilient means in response to a predetermined weight imposed on the outer ends of said arm members;

and latch means operative between said arm members and said frame means in response to said downward rotation of said arm members to retain said arm members against inward movement relative to said frame means so long as said weight is imposed on said arm members.

5. In a garment hanger, the combination of: frame means;

a pair of arm members slidably mounted on said frame means for longitudinal extension and retraction relative thereto;

a finger grip on each of said arm members substantially inwardly from its end, both of said fingers grips being adapted to be gripped by the fingers of one hand when said arm members are in their extended positions and to be moved together by the fingers of one hand to a position in which said finger grips are adjacent to each other; and

resilient means associated with each of said arm members and biasing each of said arm members toward its extended position.

6. A device as set forth in claim 5, in which said frame means includes a body portion and a longitudinal guard spaced therefrom and secured at its ends thereto and providing an open space between said guard and said body portion, said finger grips extending into said s ace. p7. A device as set forth in claim 6, in which said finger grips are each keyed to said guard for longitudinal movement with respect thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,515,544 Artley July 18, 1950 2,793,799 Frank et al May 28, 1957 2,828,897 Gordon Apr. 18, 1958 

